LIBATION IN HELLENISMOS - ΣΠΟΝΔΉ

Libations are offerings to Gods, usually in formal ritual.
Before we can discuss libations, we need to have an idea of why we would want
to make any kind of offering to Gods at all.

In Ællinismόs (Hellenismos, Ἑλληνισμός), the ancient Greek religion, the progressed soul is
attracted to the great beauty and goodness of the Gods. This attraction is
called Ǽrohs(Eros, Ἔρως).
Our Ǽrohs immediately gains the attention of the Gods, who have been awaiting
our invitation. Why do the Gods await our invitation? It is
because there is a great law that the Gods do not violate our freedom and our
conscience; they do not impose themselves on us. But when the
Gods feel our Ǽrohs, this is an invitation to enter into our life, and
there is an immediate flow of Ǽrohs back from the Gods to us. When we
make offerings to Gods, the offering actually represents
the Ǽrohs flowing back and forth between Gods and men. We make the
offering because we desire to honor them and express our love and
appreciation for them. This is also the reason why we drink some of the
libation or eat some of the food offerings, to represent
the Ǽrohs which we receive from the Gods. Without Ǽrohs, our
offerings are meaningless, the smoke from our incense blows about and wine
falls to the ground and never is savored by the Gods. Plátohn (Plato, Πλάτων) identifies Ǽrohs as a
special Daimohn (Daemon, Δαίμων):

"He (Ἔρως) interprets between Gods and men,
conveying and taking across to the Gods the prayers and sacrifices of men, and
to men the commands and replies of the Gods; he is the mediator who spans the
chasm which divides them, and therefore in him all is bound together, and
through him the arts of the prophet and the priest, their sacrifices and
Mysteries and charms, and all prophecy and incantation, find their way. For God
mingles not with man; but through Love (Ἔρως)
all the intercourse and converse of God with man, whether awake or asleep, is
carried on." [1]

Generalities concerning libations

Perhaps the most common offering to
the Gods is the venerable libation, the spondí (sponde, σπονδή). The libation is a
measure of some liquid offered, usually during ritual, such as wine, milk
and honey, even fine oil, poured out ceremoniously on the ground, or to a
receptacle on the altar.

As outlined elsewhere in this book,
offerings of any kind symbolize the interchange of Ǽrohs between Gods
and the mortals who love them.

Do we drink some of the libation?

There are differing opinions about
how to make libations. Some people pour out most of the libation, and then
drink the remaining, similar to an animal sacrifice (the meat being
consumed by the participants while the fat and bones are given to the Gods). Other
people disagree and pour out the entire libation to the Gods thinking that it
is impious to consume the food of the Gods. Although there are exceptions
(libations to the dead), this author was taught that generally, we dedicate the
libation, make the libation saving some, and finally drink the remaining. This is
implied in the below quotation of Iámvlikhos (Iamblichus; Ἰάμβλιχος):

"Perform libations to the Gods from the handle of the
cup, to make the omen auspicious and to avoid drinking from the same
part." [2]

Drinking some of the libation is
actually very important, particularly in the Orphic tradition. We are sharing
with and participating in a type of communion with the Gods.

How to make a libation

Libations are made in a special
section of the ritual reserved for this, performed in addition to any other
offerings.

If possible, the participant should
be standing up, out-of-doors, and the libation poured to the ground. Alternately,
the libation may be made indoors into a receptacle reserved for this purpose.

The general procedure is to pick up
the libation bowl with the right (receptive) hand. Next, while holding up the
cup with both hands, we make a dedication to a God or several Gods or all the
Gods, saying something like this:

We dedicate this libation to khrismohdós Apóllohn and aithǽrios Diónysos and to all the
happy, deathless Gods! [3]

Next, transfer the bowl to your left
(active) hand and gracefully pour out the liquid to the ground, leaving some in
the bowl. The libation has been dedicated to the Gods. It is now their property,
and some of this offering remains in your cup. We now drink and partake of what
belongs to them, a type of communion.

You may then recite this prayer:

We drink the blood of Diónysos! May the Aithír of Zefs
intoxicate our souls and transform us!

Finally, drink the
remaining liquid. In this, as in other types of offerings, we emulate
the Titánæs (Titans, Τιτᾶνες)
who partook of some of the flesh of Zagréfs (Zagreus, Ζαγρεύς) after
sacrificing him, as can be seen in Orphic Theogony. We drink the Ikhóhr (Ichor,
Ιχώρ), the divine blood
of Diónysos (Διόνυσος), who is the
fulfillment of the compassion and providence of his
father Zefs (Ζεύς).

The libations made at a meal
or sympósion

A very traditional group of
libations are those made at a meal or sympósion (symposium, συμπόσιον), where the libation is madefirst
to Æstía(Hestia, Ἑστία),
next to the Agathós Daimon (Ἀγαθὸς
Δαίμων), and a third libation (called "the lucky one")
to Zefs Sohtír (Soter or Savior, Σωτήρ):

And to Zefs Sohtír I make these libations! (pour another small libation and drink some)

Eat the meal and at its conclusion,
the final libation is made to Æstía.

Libations to the dead or the
khthonic deities

Yet another type of libation is
the khoí (choe, χοή), a
libation made to the dead or to khthonic (chthonic or earthy) deities, usually
milk and honey, or sweet, dark-red wine. The libation to the dead is never
consumed by those who make the offering. Traditionally, this libation is made
from a vessel tipped over on the ground [4], unlike the spondí as described
above. The hymn to Ærmís Khthónios (χθόνιος)
is recited.

WHAT DO WE OFFER FOR LIBATIONS?

Oinos: wine

Wine (οἰνός) in general is symbolic of the divine Aithír (Ether, Αἰθήρ), which is the influence
of Zefs' (Ζεύς) on the
soul. The wine represents the Water-Fire-Aithír, the synækhís ousía (syneches ousia,
συνεχής οὐσία), the continuous
kozmogonic substance.

Dark red wine is symbolic of the
blood, the Ikhóhr (Ichor, Ιχώρ) of
Zagréfs (Zagreus, Ζαγρεὐς)
or Diónysos; it represents the Jovian Aithír. We drink some of the blood
of the God, a communion reflecting the mythology of Zagréfs being sacrificed by
the Titánæs and partaking of his flesh. Thus, as Zagréfs undergoes a
metamorphosis and becomes Diónysos, we too will be transformed and thereby
conquer the sorrowful circle of births.

In ancient times, wine was mixed
with water to reduce the alcohol content. There appeared to be conventions
concerning how the wine was mixed. This author only mixes wine if one of the
participants in ritual is a teetotaler, adding some honey to make it palatable.

Mælísponda: honey

Honey is golden, the color
associated with all the Gods. Gold is like the sun which shines on the solar
system, just as the brilliance of the Gods illuminates the entire Kózmos
(Cosmos, Κόσμος). Further, you can preserve things in honey and, therefore, it
is symbolic of the immortality of the Gods. Honey is produced by bees, symbolic
of the Nýmphai (Nymphs, Νύμφαι).
A drink-offering of honey is called mælísponda (melisponda, μελίσπονδα).

Gála: milk

Milk (γάλα) represents Íra (Hera, Ήρα) Vasileia, as explained in the following mythology. While
Íra was asleep, Zefs (or Ἑρμῆς in another version of the myth) placed
the infant Iraklís (Herakles, Ἡρακλῆς)
to suckle her breast, but she awoke, and beholding the infant, was startled,
jumped up and flung her milk throughout the universe, forming the galaxy, the
Kozmic forces. [5] Milk represents Earth, the mæristí ousía (μεριστἠ οὐσίἁ), the divisible kozmogonic
substance.

Mælíkraton: milk and honey

An offering of milk and honey is
called mælíkraton(melicraton, μελίκρατον). While milk and honey is an
appropriate offering for Gods in general, it is also a traditional offering to
the dead and, when used in that way, should never be consumed by those making
such a libation. The milk and honey is libated in hopes of giving immortality
to those who have passed. It is also offered to the Gods in funerary
offerings. Honey is called the food of
the Gods:

"... some persons have thought that the nectar and
ambrosia, which the poet pours into the nostrils of the dead, for the purpose
of preventing putrefaction, is honey; since honey is the food of the Gods.
On this account also, the same poet somewhere calls nectar golden; for such is
the colour of honey (viz., it is a deep yellow)." [6]

In the Odýsseia (Odyssey, Ὀδύσσεια) of Ómiros (Homer, Ὅμηρος), the mælíkraton is
one of a number of substances used to revive the dead:

"Thither, prince, do thou draw nigh,
as I bid thee, and dig a pit of a cubit's length this way and that, and around
it pour a libation to all the dead, first with milk and honey (μελικρήτῳ), thereafter with sweet wine,
and in the third place with water, and sprinkle thereon white barley
meal." [7]

NOTES:

[1] Συμπόσιον Πλάτωνος 202-203, trans. Benjamin Jowett, 1892.

[2] Ἰάμβλιχος Life of
Pythagoras, trans. Thomas Taylor in 1818, edited for readability by Kenneth
Sylvan Guthrie in 1919.

[3] Khrismohdós (chresmodos,
χρησμῳδός) means “oracular” and is an epithet of Apóllohn, who is the
voice of Zefs (Ζεύς) on earth. Aithǽrios (αἰθέριος)
means “ethereal,” of the aithír (αἰθήρ),
and it refers to Diónysos being the aithír, the wine, the action of Zefs on
earth. These two Gods, Apóllohn and Diónysos, are, respectively, the voice
and the action of Zefs on earth. The Gods are happy (μακάριος), sometimes translated as “blessed.” And finally, the Gods
are deathless (ἀθάνατος), they have
transcended the sorrowful circle of births (κύκλος
γενέσεως) and do not have mortal bodies.

Ikhóhr - (Ichor; Gr. Ιχώρ, ΙΧΩΡ) Ikhóhr is the
golden fluid flowing through the veins of Gods. The libation of dark red,
sweet wine is symbolic of the blood of Diónysos. Nónnos refers to wine
as Ikhóhr. (Διονυσιακά Νόννου 12.292 and 12.316)

Khoí - (choe; Gr. χοή, ΧΟΗ) libation made to the khthonic deities or to the dead.

Phiáli mæsómphalos - (phiale mesomphalos; Gr. φιάλη μεσόμφαλος,
ΦΙΑΛΗ ΜΕΣΟΜΦΑΛΟΣ) a particular type of libation bowl having a
central area which is raised so that the fingers fit underneath to hold the cup
more securely.

The logo to the left is the principal symbol of this website. It is called the CESS logo, i.e. the Children of the Earth and the Starry Sky. The Pætilía (Petelia, Πετηλία) and other golden tablets having this phrase (Γῆς παῖς εἰμί καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος) are the inspiration for the symbol. The image represents this idea: Earth (divisible substance) and the Sky (continuous substance) are the two kozmogonic substances. The twelve stars represent the Natural Laws, the dominions of the Olympian Gods. In front of these symbols is the seven-stringed kithára (cithara, κιθάρα), the lyre of Apóllohn (Apollo, Ἀπόλλων). It (here) represents the bond between Gods and mortals and is representative that we are the children of Orphéfs (Orpheus, Ὀρφεύς).

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